1982 [Quenched]

[koontz1973]

As for the mountains etc... I'll think of something later today, now I have to go do christmas stuff...

Have a good Christmas natty. Try not to eat and drink to much. What am I thinking of, go get plastered and stuff your face. It only comes once a year.

[koontz1973]

Click image to enlarge.

Come up with a new mountain completely. Not really the style I wanted to do for this map but let me know what you all think. Need to tidy up the surrounding area if good.

[natty dread]

Well I don't know... the light angle seems to be different from the bevel around the land.

[koontz1973]

Well I don't know... the light angle seems to be different from the bevel around the land.

Not worried about the light just yet. Looking for the style for now. need to do the clean up on other things as well if this one gets kept.

[koontz1973]

Cleaned up and with the right lighting.

Click image to enlarge.

[natty dread]

I don't know. The new mountains fit the map better, but they don't look like mountains, you know?

The sea borders... why not make them thinner? All lines don't have to be 2 pixels thick, you know. And maybe have them the same hue as the sea but darker? You can do this easily with some creative use of layer modes.

[koontz1973]

I don't know. The new mountains fit the map better, but they don't look like mountains, you know?

The sea borders... why not make them thinner? All lines don't have to be 2 pixels thick, you know. And maybe have them the same hue as the sea but darker? You can do this easily with some creative use of layer modes.

I can live with the mountains like this as most on the maps we have do not look like mountains. But any advice to get them more looking would be great.
Will change the land/sea border to the same as the sea territ lines. Was trying to keep the differences down to cut out the confusion factor.

[natty dread]

Seriously, I think you'd do well to do a total graphical rehaul here.

I keep looking at this map, and all it does is give me a feeling of "meh... " You know? The map is "ok", you'll probably get it through the foundry as it is with the current standards, but I think you could do so much more with this. You could make it more than "ok", you could make it great.

You could make it look more like a real war. Take inspiration from other war maps, like Stalingrad, WWII Poland, or even Iwo jima. Your current graphics just seem too generic, they don't convey the feeling of an actual war.

[koontz1973]

You could make it look more like a real war. Take inspiration from other war maps, like Stalingrad, WWII Poland, or even Iwo jima.

If a graphical overhaul is needed, then those 3 maps would never inspire me to change what I have. All 3 are from the wrong time period for a start. Stalingrad is to bloody complicated and I hate complicated maps. Apart from that, it is obviously a cairnswk map. A great map maker and one that can make great looking maps, but I am still trying to find my own style. Iwo jima is a WW2 map and looks it. The overall feel and style screams WW2 which is fitting for that map. WWII Poland I just find boring to look at. Sorry Samual, but I really do but some of the things that have found there way into this map is the use of icons like the ships and planes, also the territ lines found there way onto RD.

What could change in a relatively short time to give it a better overall look is the towns and legend. RedBaron mentioned turning the legend into a radar screen or a flight deck. I tried both but found it hard to read or see any of the icons there. Might give the radar another go. One of the problems though is space. It also might be good to go back to the original idea of having one colour for the land and using the territ lines with a backing to separate the bonuses.

[koontz1973]

Try different things... deck of a carrier, a radar-screen,

Been working on this and this is the best configuration. Which colour works the best?

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

And for a bit of a laugh - well not really, I doubt the site is ready for a B/W map but with the splashes of colour like the title and legend, it might work. The textures would need to be smoothed out to an almost non existent with just a hint of pattern and the land colouring (bonus zones) would need to show up more. Got to admit, it would fit the map and it is something not on the site as of yet.

Click image to enlarge.

[natty dread]

I doubt the site is ready for a B/W map

Click image to enlarge.

[koontz1973]

Shades of brown but that is semantics. Forgot about Berlin.

[natty dread]

Shades of brown but that is semantics. Forgot about Berlin.

Sepia actually, but technically that counts as black & white - black & white photos were often coloured with sepia before colour photography became common...

Anyway, I think you're on to something with that last version - a black & white radar screen could work nicely. Or maybe something like on Arms Race, a stylistic radar-like map.

[koontz1973]

Or maybe something like on Arms Race, a stylistic radar-like map.

Been done in Arms Race as you said and DiM has just done it again with his alien map. Will make a quick mock up with what I have now to see what colour to add.

The flags would have to come out, but a different coloured glow around the ships would allow players to easily see the different sides.
Title back in colour.
Land colour will have to change to give a bigger difference between the bonus areas.

Lets see where this takes us for a few versions.

[koontz1973]

Click image to enlarge.

Before I continue down this path, I need to ask a mod about a few extra pixels to explain the differing sides now as the flags have been removed.

[natty dread]

If you continue with this style, you're going to have to redraw the land area, the current beveled style probably won't work with the b&w style...

[koontz1973]

PMed a mod to see if I can get a few extra pixels for the bottom. With the flags gone, I will need the space to explain why the text has 2 different shades behind it. But it started as a little joke in my head but it is growing on me.

Lets see what happens if I get the extra height and where this leads us.

[Flapcake]

Auch what a radical way you have taking this, I liked it much better as it was b4, it had a more obvious touch of your style, this one looks like its seen from terminators eyesight.
I agree with natty on redrawing the landscabe for the radar/terminator style.

[koontz1973]

Auch what a radical way you have taking this, I liked it much better as it was b4, it had a more obvious touch of your style, this one looks like its seen from terminators eyesight.
I agree with natty on redrawing the landscabe for the radar/terminator style.

Never be afraid to try something new. If it does not work out, so what, you lose a few hours of work, but gain a lot of experience.

I love the terminators eyesight.

[natty dread]

Are you going to fill the map with VIC-20 hex code as well?

[koontz1973]

Are you going to fill the map with VIC-20 hex code as well?

Lets go not overboard just yet.

[natty dread]

Ok, one other thing... if you're going to redraw the map:

I notice you've been using the method in my tutorial for drawin the territory borders, ie. using the path tool and stroking the paths... Well, those tutorials are written as basic guides for people who are new to mapmaking/graphics, and that method in particular is just meant for you to use when you're new and not used to drawing on a computer.

I think you're ready for drawing the borders freehand. Even with a mouse, you can do better that way, when you're careful and work with a high zoom rate. Your borders will look more natural that way.

Also, try making the territory borders thinner. That way you can make the borders between bonus areas slightly thicker, and this will help differentiating the bonus areas.

[QoH]

I think if you're going B/W, then I think you can vary with different shades for the title and legend. I just have an issue with that orange title against the black back ground, with the green circle. Also, the green and black legend thing really clashes and takes away from the simple beauty of a B/W image.

[pamoa]

well interesting development going on here
is this the new 2012 spirit
try directly with green ink instead of that glow effect behind the legend
maybe some metallic technical effect for the rules of engagement like some analogical command board
try with the green glow around the ship and landing point (not too heavy)

[QoH]

try directly with green ink instead of that glow effect behind the legend
maybe some metallic technical effect for the rules of engagement like some analogical command board
try with the green glow around the ship and landing point (not too heavy)

This is exactly what I'd suggest.

Perhaps for a font you use http://www.dafont.com/neuropol-x-free.font

I'm bad at finding a good font; only good at commenting